No More Loopholes—Companies That Fund Terrorism Must Be Held Accountable
Congress enacted the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) in 1992 to empower American victims of terrorism to hold funders of terrorism accountable for their actions. It even expanded protections and provided additional clarity to courts in 2016 and 2018:
“to provide civil litigants with the broadest possible basis ... to seek relief against persons, entities, and foreign countries ... that have provided material support, directly or indirectly, to foreign organizations or persons that engage in terrorist activities against the United States.”
Despite the law's clear intent, courts have created loopholes that protect companies that knowingly aid and abet terrorist organizations.
Congress must again clarify its original intent and close this loophole to give our vets and Gold Star families justice and shut down this funding source for terrorists and dictators.
OVER 51,000 AMERICANS ARE STANDING UP FOR OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS AND GOLD STAR FAMILIES BY SIGNING OUR PETITION.
WILL YOU ADD YOUR NAME?
SIGN THE PETITION
I’m asking Congress to stand with our Wounded Warriors and Gold Star Families against the foreign banks that funded terrorist attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iranian and foreign banks have admitted to laundering hundreds of billions of dollars that allowed Iran to fund terrorists responsible for the majority of U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Congress needs to clarify its original intent and close the loophole in the “Anti-Terrorism Act,” which US Courts have inexplicably ruled protects these foreign banks over American victims of terrorism. Our Wounded Warriors and Gold Star Families deserve justice, and banks that knowingly laundered money for terrorists should not be provided impunity to make billions of dollars in fees from terrorists via loopholes created by US courts.
PROPOSED UPDATES TO ANTI-TERRORISM ACT
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Amend the definition of the “person” defendant assists to include Specially
Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), State Sponsors of Terrorism, and any
agents, affiliates, and co-conspirators of such a person, closing loopholes where FTOs work through SDGTs and other agents.
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Amend Section 18 U.S.C. 2333(d) to apply to all acts of international terrorism committed, planned, facilitated, or authorized by an FTO, an SDGT, or a State
Sponsor of Terrorism, to ensure the statute covers the various and evolving
ways terrorist groups commit attacks, including through proxy groups.
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Clarify that Section 2333(d) creates liability for any person who, directly or
indirectly, aids and abets, or joins a conspiracy to participate in an unlawful act
from which acts of international terrorism are a foreseeable risk of the illegal or tortious activity assisted or the conspiracy joined.
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Clarify that Section 2333(d) covers not just the claims of Americans killed or
injured in terrorist attacks but also the emotional injury claims of those whose family members were murdered or maimed in terrorist attacks.
